The Japan Times - New PM Carney says Canada will never be part of US

EUR -
AED 4.008471
AFN 76.946498
ALL 99.592699
AMD 428.209261
ANG 1.967627
AOA 998.652302
ARS 1165.230509
AUD 1.708705
AWG 1.96729
AZN 1.867419
BAM 1.958596
BBD 2.204367
BDT 132.648145
BGN 1.955039
BHD 0.411303
BIF 3182.043908
BMD 1.091423
BND 1.453775
BOB 7.543769
BRL 6.206376
BSD 1.091769
BTN 94.793756
BWP 14.844259
BYN 3.572917
BYR 21391.891818
BZD 2.193041
CAD 1.558814
CDF 3137.841078
CHF 0.96152
CLF 0.026365
CLP 1011.705255
CNY 7.899556
CNH 7.887764
COP 4464.531479
CRC 544.57241
CUC 1.091423
CUP 28.922711
CVE 110.834546
CZK 25.062331
DJF 193.967824
DKK 7.460619
DOP 68.431044
DZD 145.701701
EGP 55.129418
ERN 16.371346
ETB 141.176191
FJD 2.487349
FKP 0.84346
GBP 0.839986
GEL 3.039612
GGP 0.84346
GHS 16.927999
GIP 0.84346
GMD 78.582516
GNF 9451.72389
GTQ 8.418094
GYD 228.417121
HKD 8.480379
HNL 28.142372
HRK 7.534747
HTG 143.185716
HUF 397.954936
IDR 17856.554268
ILS 3.985828
IMP 0.84346
INR 94.619666
IQD 1429.764198
IRR 45948.909941
ISK 146.425567
JEP 0.84346
JMD 170.984087
JOD 0.773931
JPY 162.652051
KES 141.340485
KGS 95.385792
KHR 4380.422628
KMF 493.159886
KPW 982.280747
KRW 1576.265378
KWD 0.336489
KYD 0.909803
KZT 544.352098
LAK 23618.395018
LBP 97736.934135
LKR 323.574881
LRD 217.192723
LSL 20.016633
LTL 3.222688
LVL 0.660191
LYD 5.260918
MAD 10.579983
MDL 19.625106
MGA 5113.317287
MKD 61.535454
MMK 2291.971003
MNT 3789.946798
MOP 8.737934
MRU 43.55847
MUR 49.168486
MVR 16.81907
MWK 1894.710778
MXN 21.78368
MYR 4.85139
MZN 69.743763
NAD 20.016627
NGN 1680.693157
NIO 40.131433
NOK 11.501072
NPR 151.67021
NZD 1.874704
OMR 0.420213
PAB 1.091759
PEN 3.995687
PGK 4.380996
PHP 62.445784
PKR 305.65266
PLN 4.185869
PYG 8676.385903
QAR 3.973322
RON 4.977761
RSD 117.190865
RUB 91.076737
RWF 1534.540811
SAR 4.093605
SBD 9.180122
SCR 15.770788
SDG 655.945344
SEK 11.012885
SGD 1.451723
SHP 0.857687
SLE 24.917124
SLL 22886.596869
SOS 623.752705
SRD 39.390582
STD 22590.253601
SVC 9.552637
SYP 14190.617778
SZL 20.016452
THB 36.649921
TJS 11.932706
TMT 3.830895
TND 3.364311
TOP 2.556224
TRY 39.976101
TTD 7.410511
TWD 35.977669
TZS 2890.386423
UAH 45.261413
UGX 4004.7169
USD 1.091423
UYU 46.526418
UZS 14120.283675
VES 71.537099
VND 27864.030516
VUV 134.198576
WST 3.076171
XAF 656.894745
XAG 0.03228
XAU 0.000364
XCD 2.949626
XDR 0.817964
XOF 657.588296
XPF 119.331742
YER 269.308902
ZAR 19.738239
ZMK 9824.099452
ZMW 31.315704
ZWL 351.437777
  • CMSC

    0.1100

    23.33

    +0.47%

  • RIO

    0.4300

    63.47

    +0.68%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    11.01

    +0.18%

  • CMSD

    0.1900

    23.54

    +0.81%

  • RBGPF

    -0.4100

    66.02

    -0.62%

  • BCE

    0.2300

    23.7

    +0.97%

  • BTI

    0.4800

    41.84

    +1.15%

  • BCC

    0.6500

    100

    +0.65%

  • NGG

    0.9300

    64.14

    +1.45%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    10.45

    +0.96%

  • GSK

    0.7600

    40.25

    +1.89%

  • JRI

    0.1700

    13

    +1.31%

  • AZN

    -0.2300

    77.37

    -0.3%

  • RELX

    0.6700

    49.6

    +1.35%

  • BP

    0.3700

    33.76

    +1.1%

  • VOD

    0.3100

    9.86

    +3.14%

New PM Carney says Canada will never be part of US
New PM Carney says Canada will never be part of US / Photo: Dave Chan - AFP

New PM Carney says Canada will never be part of US

Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday launched his term in office with a whole-hearted rejection of US President Donald Trump's repeated threats to annex his northern neighbor.

Text size:

Shortly after he was sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister, replacing Justin Trudeau who has been in office since 2015, Carney said confronting Trump's tariffs would be a top priority.

Canada "will never, ever, in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States," he added, while voicing hope his government could one-day work together with Washington to advance both countries' interests.

Officials said they were looking to set up a call between Trump and Carney in the coming days.

Ottawa has been rattled by collapsing cross-border relations since Trump returned to power in January, launching a trade war and demanding that Canada surrender its independence to become the 51st US state.

Ottawa has retaliated against Trump's tariffs, while Canadian public opinion has been outraged as the US president insists the border separating the countries should be erased.

Carney has characterized the Trump administration as the greatest challenge Canada has faced in a generation, and US tariffs on Canadian goods unjustified.

He became prime minister after overwhelmingly winning a Liberal Party vote to replace Trudeau as leader.

But the former central banker, who turns 60 on Sunday, is a political novice who has never won an elected public office.

Carney's campaign skills may be tested soon with government sources telling AFP that Canada is headed for a general election in weeks.

He said he will fly to Paris and London next week, part of an effort to reinforce Canada's alliances overseas as ties with the United States unravel. Those talks will include trade and security.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen -- who said Canada-EU relations were now "more crucial than ever" -- as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Carney on Friday.

- Election upcoming -

Carney was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before serving as governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and also led the Bank of England through the turmoil surrounding the Brexit vote.

He has sought to present himself as purpose-built to lead a country through a trade war with the United States, once Canada's closest ally but now a country that Carney says Canada can "no longer trust."

But he may not be prime minister for long.

Polls ahead of the upcoming vote show a tight race against the opposition Conservatives, who have sought to portray Carney as an elitist and out of touch with the struggles of ordinary Canadians.

He has countered that his global experience, including in the private sector, has equipped him to drive the Canadian economy forward as it faces a rupture with its most important trading partner.

"Carney is arriving at a good time. He has emerged as a figure people seem to trust to take on Donald Trump," University of Winnipeg politics professor Felix Mathieu told AFP.

On the week Trump's sweeping 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports came into force, Carney visited a steel plant in Hamilton, an industrial city near the US border in the province of Ontario.

Wearing a hard hat and goggles, Carney said he was ready to work out a trade deal with Trump.

But he insisted there must be "respect for Canadian sovereignty" in any negotiation.

Carney has also made clear efforts to distance himself from Trudeau with moves aimed at attracting more centrist voters.

He has said addressing climate change will be a top priority but his first action on Friday was to sign an order scrapping Trudeau's "divisive" carbon tax on individuals and families while pledging to advance market-led solutions.

The cabinet sworn in alongside Carney keeps much of Trudeau's team in place, including those working most closely on trade talks with the United States.

M.Matsumoto--JT